Heroes
by Tug AND Koyoko Mei
Summary: Just another day in the future war, slightly A.U. and almost but not quite a romance. Two soldiers lucky enough to survive after a resistance base was destroyed are now trying to make their way to another base before the machines get them.
1. Default Chapter

H E R O E S

aren't born, they're made

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything in any related to Terminator, not even an action figure. I do own Sally Green and her friend Martin. Anyone I find mentioning either of them without my permission will be terminated.

AUTHOUR'S NOTE: Yes, I know I'm probably not the first to do a fic like this and I won't be the last. I just had this idea bouncing around in my head and finally got motivated to write it. Also note that I have only watched the three movies, I've read none of the books so don't yell at me about some detail from the books. Flames are fine; I'm fire proof, just read the story first. 

Special thanks go to Koyoko Mei for proof reading this for me, I owe so much to her.

The sun was going to be rising soon and Sally Green was hopelessly lost. During the night the patrol she pas a part of had detected a group of H/Ks moving towards the base. While tracking them the patrol was ambushed by a second, smaller group of H/Ks. In the midst of the fighting Sally had lost touch with the others. 

For an hour she had tried to raise radio contact with the patrol but was unsuccessful. Now she had to face the possibility that the others hadn't made it. 

At least she hadn't seen anymore H/Ks, leading her to believe that the patrol had been able to stop them.

It had been her first patrol and she had never been so far from the base before. Now she was wandering, hoping to find some place that looked familiar before she was spotted by the aerial H/Ks. 

She didn't even want to consider the possibility that she might have to spend the day out in the open, waiting until nightfall to rejoin one of the patrols. 

Movement nearby caught her eye. Adjusting the weight of her pack and readying her plasma rifle she went over to investigate. 

Whatever it was, it was alone and making slow progress in her direction. As far as she knew the endos never traveled alone and in the increasing light she was unable to make out the tell tail gleam of metal. That and if she was able to see it, it was able to see her and if it was an endo it would have shot her already.

With growing certainty she believed it was another survivor. 

Once absolutely positive the figure was a human she waved her arms and called out, "Over here! Hey, I'm here!"

It returned her wave and continued towards her without picking up its pace. As they came closer, she was able to make out more details of her fellow survivor. 

It was a man, who it was she couldn't tell; she'd never been good at remembering names and faces. His uniform was too badly damaged to determine any rank and his armor was gone. In his left hand he carried a gun too large and unwieldy to be of normal issue. Closer inspection revealed the weapon to be a model normally used by the endos, at some point he must have found the remains of an endo and picked it up.

Making her way down a pile of rubble Sally tripped and rolled to a stop. She didn't attempt to get up at first, fear had brought her to exhaustion and relief had left her weak.

As she struggled to get up a shadow fell over her. Looking up she found herself staring directly into the man's brilliant blue eyes. Slowly getting to her feet she smiled.

He didn't return her smile. It was then that Sally noticed the gash on the side of his head.

"Oh, you're hurt!"

As she fumbled with her pack, hoping to find water to clean out the wound and some bandages, she took stock of their surroundings. They were near the remains of an old building with three walls still standing, it would provide them with some protection and if need be they could probably stay there until nightfall.

After a moment of searching Sally found her last bottle of water and a roll of gauze. 

"If you'll sit down I'll clean that up for you," she said gesturing at his head.

Really, it was amazing that he could have made it so far with an injury like that. She knew head wounds bled a lot, but dried blood had matted his hair and caked the right side of his face partially obscuring his features. 

As he stared at her Sally found herself quite taken with his startlingly blue eyes. An uncomfortable silence grew and Sally started to get nervous.

__

Finally he spoke startling her, "It is nothing serious."

_Men_, Sally snorted and sat down, taking a sip of her water.

Once she finished drinking she noticed that her companion had no pack. She offered him the last of her water and he took it with out a word.

_"You're welcome,"_ she muttered.

Her companion gave no indication of having heard her. He didn't drink, but poured the water into his hands and proceeded to clean his hair and face.

Once done he returned the empty bottle to Sally and stood up looking out at the horizon.

With nothing better to do Sally studied her new companion. Once clean his hair was sandy blond and cut short. Tall and muscular, he was very fit judging by how easily he held a gun. He must have taken from an endo, any weapon used by the machines was normally too heavy to be used by a human until undergoing heavy modification. 

All in all he wasn't bad looking, Sally was surprised she hadn't noticed him in the patrol at some point before the attack. 

_Look at you,_ Sally chided herself, _he's said all of four words to you and you're thinking how handsome he is. You always were into sappy romance stuff, just because it's just you and him._

In truth, Sally was a real romantic, she hated fighting and was more interested in the war ending than she was in being a part of it. With no interest in fighting she had loved to hear her grandmother's stories of life before Judgment Day. Some day when the war was over she hoped to find some place away from the ruins or anything else that was a reminder of what had happened. Settling down with a hot guy would be a major plus. 

At seventeen she felt she was entitled to some romantic dreams and at least one bout of teenage puppy love. The dreams there had been plenty of, but love was lacking, none of the guys at the base had appealed to her. They all acted as if the war was all there'd ever been and was all that ever mattered. None of them were interested in making plans for after the war and quickly grew tired of her constant talking about her plans for once it was all over. 

Eventually she ran out of things to think about and the silence started to get to her. "You probably know me, Sally Green, Private Sally Green actually, but that's obvious I guess. Well, I know it sounds stupid, but for the life of me, I can't place a name to your face."

A desperate attempt to start conversation at best, it was a complete failure. All the man did was briefly turn and look at her. 

Doggedly Sally tried again this time making an attempt at humor, "Listen, it's not that I don't like the strong silent type, but would you at least tell me your name?"

"No."

Beginning to get frustrated Sally raised her voice, "What do you mean 'no'?" 

She started to say more but stopped as she remembered something. One of the soldiers at the base had been hit in the head when a Terminator had managed to get in. The man's skull had been fractured and for the three days it took him to die he had no memory of what happened to him or even who he was.

It was very possible that this was the problem with her companion.

"You sure you're alright?" Sally asked feeling bad for losing her temper and yelling. If he was hurt that bad she had no right to be angry with him.

"It is only superficial damage." 

His reply was toneless, giving Sally the impression she was getting on his nerves.

She looked around listening to the sound of silence and trying to find something to occupy her mind. 

The sky was tinged pink and orange with the coming dawn. It was beautiful, really. Once the war was over Sally decided she'd get up early every morning and watch the sun rise. 

Presently the sunrise had a more ominous significance, it meant they'd be unable to move again until nightfall. If they were careful they'd probably be able to avoid being detected by any passing aerial H/Ks. She'd been told during the day they just used motion to detect the soldiers, and not infrared. 

Looking back at her mysterious companion she decided to try and be optimistic. "Well, I guess once night comes we'll try and make our way back to the base. Until then we'll sleep in shifts." 

With luck, she felt they'd probably be able to hook up with one of the nightly patrols. Someone in the group would recognize her companion and then everything would be fine. True they'd probably be the butt of jokes for some time, but in the long run it wouldn't matter.

"You try and get some sleep, I'll take first watch," Sally wasn't very good at staying awake but she couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor guy. A good night's sleep would probably do him some good.

The man didn't move or give any other indication that he'd heard her, he simply continued scanning the horizon. 

Sally shook her head, "You want first watch? Just wake me up when you get tired."

Again no response, with a sigh Sally lay down and fell asleep.

The next thing she knew someone was nudging at her shoulder. Blinking and rubbing sleep from her eyes she looked up. 

The man was standing over her poking her with the toe of his boot. Sally yawned, "My watch all-

She stopped abruptly when she realized it was dark.

"You fell asleep!" she accused, her voice full of righteous indignity.

Her companion was unfazed by her fury, his voice was calm and even as he replied. "I did not sleep."

Before Sally could say anything more he started to walk away from her.

Stumbling she got up to follow him. Still annoyed she continued to berate him, "You were up the whole time? If you're too tired to keep up I won't slow down for you. It'll be your fault."

Realizing she was starting to fall behind she stopped yelling and picked up her pace. Once along side him she spoke again, "Where are you going in such a hurry any way?"

He didn't even turn to face her, "You want to get to the base."

Sally was unable to tell whether it was a question of a statement and fell into silence.

Before long she was able to recognize the area they were in. In less than twenty minutes they could be back to the base if all went well.

Her companion knew where he was going, it seemed that he was getting some of his memory back, either that or he was just plain lucky. Giving the matter a moments thought Sally decided against asking him just how much he could remember.

The closer they got to the base the more nervous Sally became. It was just too quiet, there were no H/Ks, no big aerial units, not even a single endo. By now they should have at least come across one of the patrols from the base.

Picking up her pace she reached the top of a small rise. Looking down she was able to see the entrance of the base.

The still smoking remains of several endos littered the ground and on closer inspection she could see the bodies of several humans among the machines. 

Never before had she seen bodies left out in the open, and so close to the base…

Leaving her companion behind Sally broke into a full run. He didn't even try to keep up.

Without breaking stride he examined the power pack of his rifle, it was at ninety-three percent charge. Enough for anything he might encounter, though there was no sign of a threat outside there was no telling what might be waiting inside. 

The first thing Sally had seen upon entering were the guard dogs lying on the ground dead, their handler beside them also dead, a plasma bolt having shot him nearly in half.

Further down the corridor the blasted frame of an endo lay on the ground, its hands still clutching the throat of a soldier. Sally didn't look to see if she recognized the man, continuing down the halls she desperately sought another survivor.

Silence filled the halls; the only sound other than Sally's labored breathing was the scurrying of rats. Never before had she seen so many of them. Normally they stayed hidden, but now they were out in force feasting on the remains of the base's inhabitants. Everywhere she turned there were rats, seeing her they scattered, chittering and leaving little red paw prints. 

Sally ran blindly through the corridors, her footsteps echoing in the silent halls. The base looked like a slaughterhouse, human remains mingled with the shattered and charred hulks of endos. 

In the distance she saw movement, a little boy was twitching slightly. Sally ran to help him but once she got close to him several large rats scurried away and the movement stopped. The rats had been tearing at the corpse causing it to twitch and jerk.

With a strangled sob Sally threw down her pack and rifle and collapsed to the floor moaning softly.

Too distraught over what had happened to her home and friends she failed to notice something near her moving.

Looking up only when something brushed against her leg she let out a scream of terror. 

One of the endos was still functioning. It had been badly damaged. Its legs, broken and useless trailing behind it held on by only a few frayed wires, twitched spasmodically as it dragged itself towards her. 

Sally tried to get up and out of the way, but was too slow. The machine grabbed her by the left leg. There was a crunching noise and she fell back to the floor hard. 

Screaming, she fought to keep the endo from getting its hands to her throat but the machine's great weight made it almost impossible for her to move out from under it.

With painful slowness the endo inched its way up her body, its hands now grasping her waist. It became difficult for Sally to breathe as the endo was able to put more and more of its weight on her chest. 

Under the crushing weight of the machine she felt her consciousness slipping away, the world growing dim around her.

Footsteps in the distance snapped her back to awareness, remembering her companion she summoned the last of her strength and renewed her increasingly feeble struggle. 

The man came around a corner and seeing Sally's dire predicament lifted his gun to take aim.

It quickly became obvious that he would be unable to get a clear shot, and if he waited much longer Sally would be dead.

Dropping the gun he grabbed the endo.

At first the machine didn't seem able to react to this new variable; then he began to twist its head. The machine began to struggle but by this time it was too late, with a metallic grinding the endo's head snapped off.

He watched the lights of its eyes fade then dropped it and turned to Sally, "Are you injured?"

She tried moving her foot and was pleasantly surprised to find that though it hurt she could move it. The snapping noise she'd heard must have been from some damaged part of the endo.

"Not too badly," she gritted her teeth and tried to stand. 

Inhaling sharply as she tested putting weight on her injured foot she continued, "Did you find any survivors?"

The man had bent down to pick up his weapon, looking it over he replied. "No."

Giving up on trying to stand Sally slumped to the floor, "Oh god. What can we do now? Everyone's dead and what can we do?"

She was no stranger to grief and had long ago learned to put it aside. There were always orders to follow and H/Ks to fight, it didn't give you time to think about your dead loved ones. If you let sorrow get in your way you'd go mad.

But this, this was too much, or it would have been, had Sally been the only one to survive. At least there was her strange companion. Though he didn't seem to have much memory he was someone so she wouldn't be alone. She would have to manage for his sake.

Her companion spoke as she made a second attempt at getting up, "There are two resistance bases near here. One is an estimated sixty miles to the west. The other is an estimated eighty miles north but larger, the center of the human resistance."

Dismissing her companions manner of speaking as having something to do with his memory loss, the poor guy probably couldn't remember some words and had to think real hard about what he said, Sally again tested putting weight on her foot. Wincing she realized she wouldn't be doing much walking for some time.

"The north one then," she tried to take a step, "Could you give me a hand?"

He came closer and Sally grabbed his arm. Leaning heavily on him Sally managed to make her way down the corridor

Sounding almost annoyed her companion spoke, "If you are unable to move faster than this it will make reaching the base extremely difficult."

"It's not like I have a choice," her voice bordered on hysteria. 

Her companion gave the matter some thought, "The Hunter Killer units will not return now, as they believe the base to be empty. We can stay here until you are able to walk properly."

Sally was shocked, he had said this as if there was nothing wrong with staying at the place where every person you've ever known is lying dead. Though because of his amnesia he probably couldn't remember anyone, it was still really disturbing to think about staying.

She shook her head, "No, we'll just have to do our best."

As they walked down the halls Sally had another go at conversation, she just wanted to talk so she wouldn't have to think.

"That was pretty impressive how you handled that endo. Do you think you could teach me?" flattery was the best way to get anyone to talk, no one didn't like to brag.

"No," Sally was positive she detected a hint of smugness in his voice.

"Why not?"

As always, he didn't bother to look at her as he spoke, "The T-800 series is slow to respond to new variables but would be able to respond to an attack of that manner if made by a human. Also, it takes an amount of force that most humans are incapable of generating."

Alarmed Sally missed a step and started to fall, when he tried to catch her she twisted away, "What do you mean?"

"A human would be unable to destroy a Terminator in that fashion."

Sally backed away, her mysterious companion suddenly terrifying. He, no _it_, was a Terminator. That was how he, no _it_ came to be using an endo's weapon and why he, _it_ hadn't slept. But none of that could explain why she was still alive, why he, _it_ had saved her.

It bent down to help her up but she lashed out with her legs, kicking it in the chest. Pain shot up her already injured left leg. 

Showing no sign of having felt the blow it spoke, "If you are not careful you will injure yourself further."

Still not letting it anywhere near her Sally questioned it, "Why would you care, you're just planing on killing me any way."

The Terminator stopped trying to come near her, "I do not understand."

She couldn't believe what she'd just heard, it sounded like the killing machine was trying to play innocent, "What the hell do you mean? You're a fucking Terminator, what else do you do other than kill us?"

It paused, seemingly in thought. _Stop it_, Sally scolded herself,_ you're anthropomorphizing, they don't think._

Its reply was unexpected, "I do not know. At some point I sustained damage that jarred my processing chip. Damage was dealt to it and I lost all programming other than my base programming. Any information acquired since activation was also lost."

Sally smiled despite herself, in a way it really did have amnesia, "And what exactly is your base programming?"

"The ability to process new data and in affect learn from it. To be able to interact with humans until my target is acquired, the specific target is not part of the base programming," again it offered its hand to help Sally up and this time she accepted. 

They started to continue down the hall, "So you're not originally programmed to kill everyone?" 

Unconcerned by the harsh tone of her voice it explained, "No, that would be inefficient and most instances counterproductive to a mission. Terminators are programmed as needed for missions." 

That was something for her to think about later. For the time just staying alive was all that mattered and it would stay that way until she had a half way decent plan.

Reasonably sure that she wasn't going to be killed any time soon she had time to plan how to stay alive and get to other people before the Terminator decided that it really didn't care too much about humans and kill her.

Sally looked at where they were, "Turn left, we'll need to get supplies before we leave."

Stopping in the storage room Sally began to try and figure out how long it would take them to get to the base, it wouldn't be good if they ran out of water still three days from the base. 

As she packed she looked over her shoulder and noticed that the Terminator wasn't taking any supplies for itself. With a sigh she spoke to it, "Listen, I'm not going to pack for you, so you'd best take care of yourself."

"I do not need food or water."

"Right then," she nodded slowly, "Still you'd best take a pack, when we meet the others it'll look strange if you don't have one."

Watching her the Terminator packed. It was disturbing to be so close to one of the machines but Sally really didn't have a choice. There was no way she'd make it to the base on her own. A classic case of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' if there ever was one. 

Once done packing food and water Sally moved on to the room where weapons were kept. It made her a little nervous to be in a room full of guns with a Terminator but since he hadn't killed her yet he probably wasn't going to decide to now. 

She selected a standard issue plasma rifle and two spare power packs for it, still half expecting the Terminator to shoot her in the back as she put the power packs away. She knew it was stupid but she couldn't help it.

The Terminator had taken two of the larger model plasma rifles, the kind normally used to take out the large ground H/Ks or shoot off the engines of the aerial ones. 

Now it was taking enough power packs to take out a small army of machines. Wide-eyed Sally watched as is put on the pack as if it weighed nothing then sling the plasma rifles over its shoulders. 

She shook her head in amazement, "You sure you can carry all that until we get to the base?"

Not that Sally expected it to get to the actual base, as soon as they met a group of humans she planned to destroy it.

Her foot hurt worse than ever as they left the base, it was probably sprained. By tomorrow it would most likely start to swell and it would hurt like hell but for now she could walk well enough.

At first she followed the Terminator, keeping her flash light beam focused on the ground directly in front of her. She kept her eyes on the ground, not wanting to look at what she was traveling with.

After some time she picked up her pace, passing the Terminator. With tears in her eyes she looked at the blasted landscape ahead of her. Somewhere out there was another base, other people and if she just kept walking she'd get there. If she just kept walking everything would be fine. If she just kept walking…

Soon she was running, looking straight ahead, never back at the Terminator or the remains of the only home she's ever known.

She ran ignoring the pain in her foot. Several times she stumbled and fell but always she got to her feet and continued running. 

Everything would be fine if she could just keep walking…

Exhaustion eventually forced her to slow to a walk. Her breath came in ragged gasps and the pain in her foot had intensified to a constant throb but she refused to stop. If she just kept walking everything would be fine.

They continued on through the night without stopping, the Terminator not needing rest and Sally too lost in her haze of grief and pain to care.

The sky grew pink with the coming dawn, but still Sally continued to walk.

When the Terminator caught up with her she didn't look at it, as long as she continued to walk it didn't matter. If she kept walking everything would be fine. 

If she didn't think about the pain in her legs or what had happened it didn't matter. The pain in her legs was a good thing, it took her mind off the pain of her sorrow.

If she could just keep walking she wouldn't have to think, everything would be fine…

The stars faded and the sun came up but Sally didn't stop. She was moving slower now and the Terminator had adjusted its pace to match hers. 

__

Keep walking, everything will be fine. It became a mantra, keeping her going well past the boundaries of exhaustion. 

More and more often Sally stumbled but she managed to keep walking. If she kept walking…

It was about four hours after sunrise that Sally fell and was unable to get up. Curling up on the ground she began to cry.

Puzzled as to what was wrong with her the Terminator knelt down next to her. Before it was able to react Sally had grabbed it and was leaning against its shoulder, still crying.

After some time she had cried herself to sleep, still leaning against the Terminator. It remained completely still, only moving to put its arm around her when she started to slide to the ground. 

Sally woke to a throbbing pain in her ankle. For a moment she was disoriented, unable to tell where she was or what had happened.

There was someone holding her, that much she knew, but she couldn't remember who. Looking up into a pair of brilliant blue eyes it all came back to her, getting lost, finding what she thought was an other survivor, the base, her break down. 

Everyone she knew was dead and somehow she'd fallen asleep in the arms of a machine. Repulsed at what she had done she began to try and squirm out of its arms. 

As if understanding her discomfort it let her down gently, but she couldn't help but wince slightly as her left foot was moved.

She spoke while she unlaced her boot, just to break up the silence, "I guess I was pretty stupid running like that."

Gingerly she pulled her boot off, "I mean a H/K could have spotted me or something."

The Terminator had remained sitting next to her, watching. Much to her surprise it spoke, "That would be unlikely, Hunter Killer units only patrol an area of approximately thirty square miles around each known base."

That was a useful bit of information, everyone she knew was dead, but she didn't have to worry about any machines other than the one next to her. 

Peeling off her sock she examined her ankle, it was badly swollen with deep blue-black bruises marking where the endo had grabbed her. By the looks of it she wouldn't be doing any walking that day.

Judging by the position of the position of the sun it was about noon but Sally could have sworn she'd been asleep for longer than just a few hours.

Figuring the Terminator would have an idea of the time she inquired, "How long was I out for any way?"

"I do not understand."

Realizing that it was confused, if that was the right word, by how she'd asked, she tried again, "How long was I asleep for?"

This time it was able to understand, "Fourteen hours, thirty-seven minutes, approximately."

She hadn't expected a response like that Sally laughed, "Could you get any more exact than that?"

It stared at her, "No."

Apparently for all their advanced programming and artificial intelligence, Terminators had no concept of sarcasm.

For the first time it spoke without her having addressed it, "Sleeping that long is not a normal part of a human's daily routine, are you damaged in some way?" 

Sally sighed, "No, not damaged. I guess I had a bit of an emotional break down, all that had happened and then I just ran myself to exhaustion trying to get away. Not that I loved life at the base but it was all I had."

The Terminator had nothing to say to this.

Sally took out a canteen and a packet of dehydrated something out of her pack. She mixed the contents of the packet until it was the right consistency, not that there was a wrong consistency.

She ate a mouthful and grimaced, it tasted just like it looked, bland was one way to put it, like shit was another. Which was more accurate was open to debate. 

Taking out another packet she turned to the Terminator, "You want some?"

Sally knew she was imagining it, but it sounded smug as it replied, "I do not require food. All my energy needs are provided by a hydrogen power cell."

"You know," Sally commented as she put the packet away, "I think I envy you for that."

The Terminator continued to stare at her but said nothing. Shuddering she turned away. 

When she heard movement she glanced over her shoulder, the Terminator was getting up. Nervously she called out to it, "Don't leave me, you know I can't walk with my foot the way it is."

It stopped and stared out into the distance. Sally imagined it was looking for any possible threats that would be heading their way. 

For the first time in as long as she remembered she had nothing to do. Normally the constant activity of the base left here with little time to even consider what she'd do if she wasn't busy, but now it was gone.

Eventually they'd reach another base and there would be plenty of things to do, but at the moment there was nothing.

Oddly Sally wasn't depressed. Her run the previous day had used up all her grief. She still hadn't exactly come to terms with what had happened but she was ready to stop thinking about it.

Leaning back she looked up at the sky. 

It was a clear day with only a few clouds sitting low on the horizon. The sky was such a breathtaking blue that it almost made her eyes hurt. As she stared without blinking she felt as though she could fall into the infinite blue extending above her.

So brilliant a shade that it left no room in your eyes for tears.

_Its eyes were sky colored_

Abruptly Sally sat up straight. The Terminator hadn't moved, it was still standing a distance away. Looking for enemies that hopefully would never come.

For some reason she felt bad thinking of the Terminator as just 'the Terminator' even though that's what it was. On a whim she called out to it, "Hey!"

She didn't know how else to get its attention, saying 'hey you' made it sound like they were complete strangers, which unfortunately they weren't and it didn't have a name she could address it by.

It turned. Feeling rather silly Sally continued, "You really don't have a name?"

"Terminators are given identification numbers, based on their model, series and batch in which they were made, I am Terminator Unit 101-800.53," it said this without emotion, it was simply stating a fact.

Sally smiled, "That's not much of a name, can I give you a real one? Just so I have something to call you and all."

She couldn't believe what she was doing, not only was she naming a machine, she felt sorry that it didn't have a name to begin with.

Either the Terminator was getting better at imitating human intonation or Sally was going crazy but when it replied she thought it sounded interested, "You may give me a name."

"Let me think," She didn't want to name it after anyone she knew, that would be just plain wrong. Never having been very good with remembering names it took her some time to think of a decent sounding one, "How about Martin?"

The Terminator nodded, "If you want, Martin is an acceptable name."

The newly named Martin returned to watching for any approaching enemies.

Almost immediately Sally regretted her decision to name it. Now it would be harder to think of the Terminator, Martin, as just an it. She hoped she wasn't getting attached to it, that would only make it more difficult to let it be destroyed when they made it to the base.

Lying back down Sally resumed looking at the sky and tried to make some sense of her situation. 

Martin was the first time she'd seen a functioning Terminator up close. True she'd seen other Terminators, ones that had gotten in and attacked the base, but by the time she actually saw them they'd been shot to pieces with only a few ragged patches of flesh clinging to a broken metal frame.

Not until meeting Martin did she realize just how hard it was to tell one apart from a real person. It was scary, not until it had practically told her what it was had she actually had any idea. Now it was learning by watching her and becoming able to act more human all the time.

More likely than not she was the first person to actually get close to a Terminator and live. There had to be something she could do. Probably she should try to get information from it about SkyNet and the machines, but it seemed unlikely that a single Terminator would know any more about SkyNet as a whole than she herself knew about General Connor's plans for the resistance.

This train of thought would get her nowhere. It struck her as rude to just ask 'could you tell me how to best win the war against you guys' but there was no other way of putting it.

She knew she wouldn't ask Martin about what he was until she thought she could understand him better. What motivated a machine? Why did they fight, or in Martin's case, not fight? 

Looking over at Martin standing near by she wondered if it got bored. It looked human enough and even thought to an extent but something about Martin made it so very different from a human.

With no one to talk to Sally wondered if she could start a conversation with Martin. It would give her something to and she could justify it if in the process she learned something about the machines.

She called out to it, "Hey Martin!"

It turned as though it expected an attack. As a Terminator it was programmed for combat and had to be ready at all times. Seeing no threats and now aware that humans, or Sally at least, expected a response when spoken to Martin determined the best reply, "What?"

Sally motioned for him to come over, "I'm bored, lets talk."

Conversation would provide an opportunity to gather new data on human social behavior. Martin walked over and stood a few feet away.

"Don't just stand there, sit down, relax," she motioned to a clear patch of ground next to her.

Slowly Martin lowered itself to the ground, carefully mimicking her posture.

Watching Martin Sally couldn't help but think it would have been rather handsome if it were human. She was disgusted at herself for thinking this but it was true. It seemed that SkyNet had a good idea of what people found appealing and made good use of the knowledge. That and other than the gash on its head Martin's fair skin was unscathed, something very rare in this time of constant fighting.

When Martin remained silent Sally laughed, "I guess I'll start this conversation. What's it like to be you?"

Martin seemed puzzled by the question and Sally couldn't help but notice that it was in fact picking up human gestures and expressions.

Deciding not to think about that she continued, pressing for an answer, "I mean do you have feelings?" 

"When damage is dealt to the skin it is picked up by sensors, the resulting data could be called pain." 

Martin had apparently misunderstood her question, "No, what I want to know is do you get bored or happy or sad. Do you have emotions?"

What she really wanted to know was why it had saved her, but she was too nervous to just ask.

Martin startled her with his response, "You place a great deal of value on emotions, why?"

A question like that was unexpected, really, Sally hadn't been expecting it to ask any questions at all, "Our feelings make us who we are."

"They are like programming," it nodded understanding.

"Not at all! Emotions are why we act the way we do, but everyone feels different about things. You just do things because of the way you feel about them, like how you try and comfort someone who's sad because you know how they feel, or if you really like someone you're nice to them. It's really hard to explain but without emotions I guess we'd be," she paused uncomfortably, "well, like you."

"I do not understand."

Sighing she shook her head, "Yeah, I didn't think you would." 

At a loss for what to say Sally let the conversation trail off. Martin made no further inquiries but didn't get up and resume his watch.

Having gotten used to sleeping during the day Sally eventually dozed off in the warm afternoon sun. Martin remained watching her unable to understand why humans did something as inefficient and wasteful as sleep.

When Sally woke up it was dark out. Her foot was still slightly painful but the swelling had gone down some. Gently she put on her boot, fumbling with the laces in the dark.

Unable to see clearly in the dark she called out to Martin hoping it was nearby, "I think I can walk, we can go now if you're ready."

Something moved near her, turning to look she saw twin red lights, the glowing eyes of an endo. 

Fumbling in the dark for her rifle she took aim.

"I'm ready."

She nearly dropped her weapon in shock. Only now did she remember hearing that in the dark you could make out the lights behind the eyes of a Terminator.

"Oh god, don't ever do that to me again, I almost killed you," her voice was shaky as she scolded Martin.

"Do what?"

Finding a flashlight in her pack Sally turned it on and aimed it at the red lights to reveal Martin standing a few feet away from her.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, I can't see in the dark you know. I almost shot you because I thought you were an endo," as she spoke she carefully got to her feet.

Martin didn't comment, it simply started walking. As a Terminator it had no need for light and could find its way through the ruins as though it was day. 

Keeping her flashlight beam aimed at the ground Sally did her best to avoid any obstacles in her path. Even without looking up it was easy enough to follow Martin, its never faltering footfalls seemed to echo in the otherwise silent night.

The going was slow, the pain in her foot making it hard to match Martin's pace, but she had to manage. Every step brought her that much closer to the base and rescue.

When they got there it would be the end of Martin. They would probably hook up with a patrol and Martin would be recognized for what it was in an instant. 

Even if that didn't happen and they made it all the way to the base there was no way in hell it would manage to get past the dogs.

Sally felt guilty about that but Martin was one of the enemy, end of story. If she died it wouldn't care, so why should she care about it?

In hindsight she probably shouldn't have named it, that might make it harder to let it be destroyed but what was done was done and there was no way to fix any of it now.

In the back of her head that little voice of unreason known as the conscience nagged her, '_but he did save you.'_

With a small amount of effort Sally as able to ignore it.

Still partially lost in her internal battle between right and wrong Sally didn't notice when Martin stopped abruptly.

She kept walking and bumped into it, which was like walking into a brick wall.

"What the-

It turned and she was able to see its eyes glowing red in the darkness, shuddering she fell silent.

"Turn off your light and get down," in its tone it managed to convey a sense of urgency.

She couldn't see much in the dim light but judging by the faint rustle of cloth and a slight click Martin had taken one of its plasma rifles and was preparing to fire.

"What's going on?" she whispered as if though someone or _something_ might hear her.

"Seven," a pause, "endos about thirty meters away. I don't know what they'd be doing this far away from the battle fields but they appear to be looking for something and haven't detected us yet."

Martin took aim and fired. One, two, three, four, five plasma blots. 

Sally lifted her head to try and see how many it had gotten but Martin dropped and pushed her down.

The air crackled as the endos returned fire. Two plasma bolts went over their heads so close Sally could smell the ozone as the intense heat seared the air.

Four more bolts passed overhead in rapid succession, then the firing stopped. Martin stood up and fired twice more.

After a moment it turned back to Sally, "It's safe for us to continue now."

Sally was amazed, "You mean to tell me that you took out seven endos in the dark with only one shot to each?"

It slung the gun back over its shoulder, "Yes. I'm able to shoot with ninety-two percent accuracy under ideal circumstances. They were fairly close and did not move as they were not expecting an attack."

They stopped just before sunrise, the sight of the endos seeming to have put Martin on guard. It thought that the endos may have been looking for it but there was no way to be certain.

This time when Sally took off her pack and sat down Martin imitated her. She almost laughed at the sight of it trying to look relaxed. 

Noticing a wet spot on the bottom of her pack Sally rummaged around to investigate, scowling when she discovered one of the canteens had come open. The moisture had bled through two packets of dehydrated food mix, ruining them.

She still had a half-full canteen and three packs of dehydrated food mix, with luck it would be enough. Spreading out the remaining contents she turned the pack inside out to dry. 

Taking off her boot she noted that the bruise was already starting to fade, turning a sort of yellowish color around the edges.

Next to her Martin hadn't only taken off its pack but put down its plasma rifles. Sally thought it was strange to see Martin not looking as though it expected an attack at any moment. It was starting to do a better job of acting human. The sooner she got to the base and got rid of Martin the better.

"How much farther do we have to go?"

"We have approximately twenty-one miles until we reach the edge of the battle field. After that the going will be slow since we'll need to avoid being seen by aerial H/Ks and groups of endos," as Martin said this it was clear that it felt no attachment to its fellow machines.

Sally couldn't believe how detached Martin was from others of its kind. Not that she had a problem with that but she found it strange, not only had it destroyed seven Terminators of the same model, it for some reason wasn't bothered by the need to avoid any H/K units they encountered. 

"Martin, why didn't you try and rejoin that group of endos?"

It managed a very convincing expression of puzzlement, "What's left of my programming is to remain hidden among humans until I've acquired and terminated my target. Since the part of my programming determining my specific target is gone I will simply interact with humans until I am discovered, then it is probable that I will be destroyed."

This surprised Sally, though she knew that the machines had no fear of death such complete indifference was almost frightening, "But if you went and rejoined the machines you'd get fixed and all."

She knew what she was doing was stupid and could get her killed if she gave Martin any ideas, but she was curious and felt compelled to get an answer.

"I had no reason to return," as if by afterthought it added, "T-800 units are being modified due to problems with their processing chip."

What it had said was in some ways disturbing, Martin felt no need to be with others of its own kind and the last part of what it had said made it sound like it would rather be destroyed than be reprogrammed. Could Martin possess any sense of self and as a result feel the need for self-preservation? If so destroying it would be more like killing a person than Sally wanted to think about.

Sally could no longer be sure if her seeing Martin as having some very human behaviors was still just her anthropomorphizing. 

Disturbed by the thought that Martin might not want to die, Sally watched the sunrise and thought about what she'd do when the war was over, something she usually did when thinking about the present got to be too stressful. 

She truly did believe that it would end soon, according to reports from other bases the machines had started to withdraw in some areas. 

In the dawn's first light she saw a small yellow flower growing amongst the rubble. Sally decided it was a good omen, a sign of life triumphing even in the midst of ruins. 

A slight breeze blew at one of the plant's feathery seed heads sending the minute seeds drifting through the air. Most would land on stone and concrete and die but some would land in soil and grow. Some day there would be no traces of the ruins, but there would still be fields of flowers like the ones from her grandmother's stories.

__

Some day when the war is over I'll live far away from the ruins and I'll plant a garden full of flowers like that.

She couldn't tell if she'd said it out loud, when she turned to Martin its face was blank as always.

When she fell asleep she dreamed of the sun and flowers but also of a companion with blue eyes as deep and as empty as a cloudless sky.

Once the sun set they took their time getting ready as this was most likely their last chance to relax before returning to the on going battle between the resistance and the machines. 

Sally finished the last of her water and one of the dehydrated food packets. She considered throwing the rest away but thought better of it, it was impossible to tell how long it would take them to find the base.

"Martin, do you have any spare water?" if it did they could probably share, chances were that it wouldn't mind. 

Martin reached into its pack and pulled out a canteen. Wordlessly it tossed it to her.

It was unopened, "Thanks," Sally put it in her pack for later.

"You're welcome."

As it said this it smiled. Sally felt her stomach lurch. Martin was getting harder and harder to think of as being an it. It was a good thing that they'd be reaching the base soon, much longer and it would be impossible to tell just how human Martin would be acting. 

This made Sally think a bit and attempt to plan ahead, "Martin, what's the quickest way to get to the base, so we could avoid the worst of the fighting?"

A shrug, "I don't know."

Hearing this Sally nearly dropped her pack, "What do you mean? You said that you knew where the base was!"

"The exact location of the base is unknown. The estimated location is monitored to find the exact location. As far as I know there might not even be a base, but the amount of human activity in the area indicates that there is."

"What about the Terminators, they get into the bases?"

Martin nodded, "True, but they join groups of humans. None of them survive to bring any information on the bases back to SkyNet."

It made sense to her when she thought about it but she still felt mad that she hadn't found this out earlier, "Damn Martin, there had best be a base when we get there."

They walked steadily on through the night. After several hours of walking they could see distant flashes of light from the big aerial H/Ks and the occasional muffled rumble on an explosion. 

While they walked Martin explained the situation to Sally.

"Chances are we'll be in the midst of the fighting around one hour before sunrise. That could be risky because there's a chance that by the time we get there the humans will have returned to their base. If we stop here and wait until tomorrow night there is a possibility we may be detected by one of the aerial H/Ks or a group of endos"

"We'll keep going," so close to the base Sally found the idea of stopping and waiting even longer unthinkable.

For the most part Martin was able to predict the actions of any machines they encountered and managed to avoid all but one small group of endos. These he managed to dispatch with the same ease as the seven they'd encountered the night before. 

There had also been a close call with a tank like ground H/K but when it detected Martin it moved on. 

To Sally it seemed that the machines were focussed on something other than her and Martin and judging by all the explosions and circling aerial H/Ks there had to be resistance fighters near by. 

Upon reaching the top of a small hill they saw a group of soldiers exchanging fire with about twenty endos as an aerial H/K circled above. Another group of endos was advancing on them, getting dangerously close.

Squinting Sally tried to get a better look at the soldiers as they divided their attention between the endos and trying to take down the aerial H/K so they'd no longer be in its spot light. From what she could see they were only focusing on the one group of endos while the second group was nearly on top of them.

"What's going on, don't they see the endos?"

It didn't make sense to Sally but she thought Martin, being programmed for combat, might be able to figure out what was happening.

Martin took a gun in each hand, "No, the group firing is a distraction, it's an ambush similar to the one used on your patrol."

Without saying another word Martin took aim and began firing. 

Sally nearly screamed until the saw two endos in the ambush party fall. As quickly as she could she took her own rifle and began firing. Though her aim was nowhere near as good as Martin's she did get a few lucky shots in.

Puzzled at first, the soldiers soon realized what was going on and began to focus on the ambush party. 

Martin turned its attention to the aerial H/K. Finding weaknesses that only another machine would know, Martin was able to take out one of its searchlights and hit it several times in the engines. 

The H/K started loosing altitude and flew off to get out of the line of fire.

Still uncertain, the soldiers began to look for their unseen rescuers.

Sally started to get up but Martin motioned for her to stay down, "They don't know who we are, if they don't realize that we're friends they might start shooting."

It stood up, flashlight in hand and waved at the soldiers, "We're on your side! Over here!"

Whoever was in charge of the group waved for them to come over. Sally stood up crying with relief. Ecstatic with the prospect of rescue she acted without thinking and hugged Martin.

It looked down at her unable to comprehend such bizarre human behavior, "For what reason are you sad?"

Suddenly aware of what she was doing Sally pulled back, "I'm not sad you idiot. I'm crying because I'm happy."

She laughed as she said this, there were some things about humans that Martin would never understand. 

Still crying and laughing Sally ran to her rescuers. Even Martin picked up its pace though it was impossible to tell whether it did this because of being rescued or simply to keep up with Sally.

Once they were with the group they were on the move again. The officer in charge questioned them as they went, Sally was unable to figure out his rank as the uniforms at each base differed slightly. Plus ranks were another thing she had a hard time remembering. 

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?"

This was her chance. She'd tell all about the attack on her base and Martin and the journey… and Martin… She'd have to explain all about Martin and that would be the end of it.

Taking a deep breath Sally began, "I'm Private Sally Green from Base fifty-nine, the one about eighty miles from here."

She looked up at the officer helplessly, how could she possibly explain all that had happened to her?

He nodded, "We lost contact with fifty-nine four or so days ago, what happened?"

Closing her eyes against the tears Sally continued, "We were attacked and everyone", she choked wondering if she'd be able to say anything, "and everyone was, oh god, they were all killed. I was the only survivor."

The officer patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. Then he turned to Martin, "And you are?"

It remained silent, looking at Sally for a cue. 

Now was the time, Sally had to explain what Martin was. It was now or never.

"That's Martin, I don't know his last name or his rank. He got hit on the head and can't remember much."

The words came out in a rush before Sally could stop herself. Afterwards she felt exhausted as if the entire ordeal had caught up with her at once.

The officer shook his head in disbelief, "And you two made it all this way. Amazing."

Sally had fell back a few steps to be next to Martin. She'd done it, there was no way of telling what she'd done had been right or wrong, but she'd done it.

Taking _his_ hand in hers she smiled at _him_. He returned the smile. It was a perfect imitation, but it was still an imitation, his eyes showed no emotion.

Some people would consider what she'd done wrong, but Sally attempted to justify her actions by telling herself that Martin had saved her life and she was just returning the favor.

Their arrival at the base was expected, the information having already been radioed in. 

Sally went in before Martin and looked around. There were people gathered to greet the returning soldiers, probably family and friends grateful for their safe return. Three dogs sniffed eagerly at the returning soldiers. For Sally it was a wonderful, comforting experience. 

Then all hell broke loose.

The dogs had begun barking madly. Sally spun around realizing what was going on. 

Martin and three of the soldiers were stopped at the entrance, a dog handler instructing them to put down their weapons. 

If she didn't think of something fast they were going to figure out what Martin was and since she'd claimed to know him she'd be in deep trouble. 

"Martin!" Sally called out praying her plan would work, "Put the guns down and get the hell out of there. The dogs smell something!"

Martin was quick to do as told and started to move away from the dogs. One of the soldiers tried to stop him, but one of the dogs lunged and knocked him down while trying to get at Martin. 

In the confusion he managed to make his way over to Sally. Together they watched as the dog handlers attempted to restore order.

Eventually the barking stopped and the handlers apologized for the false alarm once it was obvious that there was no Terminator. 

One of the handlers reasoned that sometimes the dogs would smell metal and oil on people and get nervous. The soldier explained it as 'that damn animal always did have it in for me'.

Sally knew she had given up her last chance to feign ignorance about Martin, but she didn't regret it. Martin had been her companion and, in a way her, friend. On the journey he'd protected her from the machines, now it was her turn to protect him from the soldiers.

A person had to look out for their friends even if it meant doing something risky or making a choice that other people wouldn't understand. 

In the end it was the situations like this that really determined what made people different from machines. 


	2. Chapter 2

H E R O E S

DISCLAIMER: You all know the drill, I don't own Terminator, if I did it wouldn't have taken so long for there to be a third movie. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The second and last part of the story. I don't think I'm done writing Terminator fics though, I do have an interesting idea for a romance? fic. (Put emphasis on the '?')

The first week at the base passed in a flurry of activity for Sally and Martin. Their respective injuries were treated to the best of the base doctor's abilities, they were familiarized with the layout of the base, and introduced to some of the higher ranking officers they would be encountering most often.

Amazingly during that first fast-paced week no one suspected Martin to be anything other than human and Martin did nothing to create suspicion about his true nature. 

This came as a relief to Sally, as in the beginning she was in constant fear that Martin would be found out. By the end of the fifth day where Martin remained regarded as nothing more than a refugee with amnesia Sally allowed herself to relax. 

Martin kept mostly to himself. Though he had proved adept at blending in Sally tried to stick near him, feeling that he was in some way her responsibility. Most people seeing them together assumed that they were staying together because of the experience they'd had. Sally found it troubling that people thought there was something between her and Martin, but it was understandable since they had no idea why such a relationship could never occur. 

It was hard for Sally to adjust to living in such a large base. In her old base there had been only about two hundred people, here there was upward of six hundred. She quickly found out large crowds made her uncomfortable.

Whenever she was away from Martin she was asked about the events of her journey. Sometimes it was from a soldier wanting information and advice about how she'd survived so long above ground, but mostly the people asking were simply curious about her simply because she was someone new with an unusual story.

Most people believed that she had saved Martin's life during the journey instead of the other way around. There was no way she could think of to explain the truth without revealing what Martin was, so that was another thing she kept quiet about.

Sally had also briefly attracted a small following of men trying to add her to their list of conquests. This caused her to spend as much time with Martin as she could in order to make it look like there really was something going on between them and in the process drive off potential suitors. It was remarkably successful, even though he seemed normal there was something about Martin that made people uncomfortable. 

There wasn't of course anything going on between her and Martin. Though flattered by the attention Sally wasn't ready for anything romantic so soon after all she'd been through. At least that was what she told herself when she tuned down any advances made.

Normally she spent her time wandering around, getting familiar with the layout of the base, something she was having a hard time with, and listening to what people were talking about. Many interesting topics came up, but very rarely did she join in conversation. 

Most of the base's residents believed that the war was almost over. This was supported by the fact that in two weeks time General Connor planned to launch a massive attack against several of SkyNet's largest factories. After that deciding battle people believed the tide of war would turn and the machines would fall. 

After what had happened to her base Sally found it hard to believe that the machines were on their way out, but like everyone else she had absolute faith in the General. 

In preparation for the upcoming attack General Connor was personally meeting with anyone who was considered a tech expert. This included people ranging from computer programmers to experts on the workings of the machines.

Rumors said that he was looking for someone who knew about the programming of the machines, especially Terminators in series 800 through 850. Never was it explained what he wanted to know, which made the rumors all the more interesting.

After hearing several of these stories Sally decided to look for Martin to discuss what she'd heard. If the General was really looking for information on Terminators Martin would probably be able to help better than anyone else in the base. 

Sally felt that the sooner the war ended the safer she and Martin would be. Once the fighting was over it would be easier to hide the truth. Or maybe, Sally thought in her more fanciful moments, if Martin somehow ended up a hero it wouldn't matter even if he was found out. 

It took nearly an hour of searching for her to find him. Three times she had gotten turned around and found herself walking down the same stretch of hallway or in the direction opposite of where she wanted to go.

Finally she found him in the 'civilian' section of the base, where people who weren't an active part of the war effort lived. Martin spent most of his time there because it had been decided not to assign him any work until his memory at least started to come back.

Sally didn't stay there herself, as she'd been assigned the job of repairing weapons, something she enjoyed. Helping in a way that didn't involve being shot at by the machines was a pleasant break for her. 

Martin was standing off to one side of the room, watching life go on around him. The only reason he was a part of it all was by freak chance, but it didn't matter, he was in the base and somehow he was making a place for himself. Truly, he was making an entire life for himself, pretending to be part of what was going on around him and in the process becoming an actual part of it.

Sometimes, when Sally was in the mood for deep thinking she decided that Martin was becoming more human than it was normally possible for a machine to be. Some of his actions seemed impossible to explain as simply part of programming, but as Sally knew nothing about the way the mind of a Terminator was made there was no way she could be certain of such beliefs. 

When Martin saw her he smiled and waved. As always, if you looked closely enough and knew what it was you were looking for, you could see something missing from his smile.

Sally gave an equally fake smile in return. She was too deep in thought to even try to be cheerful.

"Hey Martin, how's it going?" she looked around to make sure no one was watching them too closely. Though she knew there was nothing suspicious about her planed topic of conversation she couldn't shake the feeling that she was doing something wrong.

Once certain no one was listening she continued, "Have you heard anything interesting about the upcoming attack?"

Martin shrugged in response. Dimly Sally wondered when he'd picked that up, as she was sure he'd never done it before. Once he started speaking she snapped back to attention.

"I've heard many different," a pause to find the best word, "rumors, but they are varied and often contradictory."

Sally nodded, from the sounds of it he'd heard the same stories she had, but there was a chance that his different perspective might give him a slightly different, possibly more informative view.

"We've probably been hearing the same things. Do any of them sound more likely?"

He shook his head, "Nothing I've heard comes from any ranking officers, that alone gives me reason to doubt the validity of the information. Also anyone directly involved is keeping quiet about any details other than that 'it's going to be a truly massive attack' to quote one of the tech experts involved."

None of it was anything Sally hadn't heard. She knew it wasn't important that she understood exactly what was going on, but since General Connor wanted information on the machines she felt that she and Martin should be able to help in some way.

In a low voice Martin spoke again, "This hasn't been mentioned, but I do know that the main target of the attack it one of SkyNet's largest factories. It was one of the first to start production of Terminator units. Also, a number of experimental devices are being tested there. What's more, General Connor plans to lead the attack on this particular factory himself."

Sally thought this over. If the General himself was going to be there the mission was definitely something major. There was a possibility that some of what Martin knew could help the mission, after all he probably knew more about Terminators than any one else in the base. The problem was that she couldn't think of how to share that information.

"Martin, should we tell what you know? Not in a way that anyone will figure out the truth, but maybe we just say you're memory came back a little."

"It could work, but we need to put the information in context, a story as to why I would know such things. Simply knowing information about SkyNet factories could possibly create suspicion and lead to my being discovered." 

Looking around the room Sally realized that their conversation was attracting some attention. Not unexpectedly though, a man and woman standing in a corner talking in hushed tones are sure to attract some attention. To Sally it was obvious what the people watching thought and the idea made her shudder.

"Let's invent a story later, but we'll need to find some place private, our little 'drama' seems to be attracting an audience." As she spoke she gestured to the curious onlookers, some of who were actually discreet enough to look away once Sally motioned at them.

She left and Martin resumed people watching.

_That sounded so wrong, 'find some place private' made it sound like they were planing on…_

Deciding that this was one of many trains of thought that wouldn't get her anywhere she tried to think of an actual location for them to formulate their story. She knew of a number of seldom used rooms and empty supply closets, but that would cause people to think…

_Well Sally,_ she thought wryly_, you did try pretty hard to cultivate that impression. _

Eventually she decided that it was a rather good idea, such an activity was perfectly normal and no one would interrupt them. They could even get together later that day, once Sally was done with her day's work.

All through her work shift she couldn't stop thinking about possible stories for Martin, as intelligent as he could be she doubted that he had much of an imagination. Normally the endless checking the charge of power packs and examining of plasma rifles to see if they could be repaired worked to take her mind off just about anything but it wasn't working today.

One of her fellow repair workers, a man named Steven, noted her distraction and commented.

Before she was able to stop herself she blurted out what she was thinking about, "Oh, we've got some plans to make tonight."

This was interesting, such gossip always was, "Really now, with whom? Go on, I'm listening," he encouraged her to continue.

"My personal life is not a topic of public discussion," she snapped, blushing furiously. 

She was so flustered and lost in thought that she didn't even notice when a soldier entered the room and started towards her.

"Are you Private Sally Green?"

"Yeah, what do you want?"

Only after saying this did she think to turn around and face the man addressing her. She immediately regretted what she'd said and the tone she'd said it in. It was Sergeant Reese. The only reason she recognized him was because for some reason the General held him in special esteem. Martin had mentioned this to her in passing, she had no way of knowing whether it was true or not.

Afraid at what reproof she might receive she did her best to mutter an apology. 

The Sergeant took no notice, "Come with me, General Connor wants to speak with you."

Something didn't sound right, "The General wants to speak to me… Why?"

"I can't mention it here."

It didn't make sense, unless…

General Connor knew.

Sally had no idea as to how it could have happened but somehow General Connor had found out about Martin. That was the only thing she could think of that made any sense.

Her mind was reeling as she was escorted to the section of the base where the General's private quarters were. There the Sergeant left her.

Martin arrived moments later. She looked at him, but he was as clueless as to what was happening as she was. There was no way she was going to ask him anything for fear of making the situation even worse.

The door opened and Sally found herself in an impossible situation, she was with a Terminator, face to face with General Connor and wondering what the General was going to do to her.

Doing the only thing she could think of Sally saluted. Martin imitated her standing at ridged attention. 

"Relax."

Having expected to be addressed immediately about bringing a Terminator into the base, the General's calm manner caught her off guard. 

"Yes Sir… erm… What do you want us here for… uh Sir? 

Not the most intelligent way of putting it, but Sally was terrified and trying her hardest to play innocent on the off chance that it really wasn't about Martin.

As she waited for a response she found herself feeling as though she would faint. Taking a deep breath she tried to calm down and was somewhat successful. She still found herself unable to maintain eye contact with the General and she dropped her gaze to look at Martin out of the corner of her eye.

Martin seemed to be faring much better, the fact that Terminators were incapable of fear probably had something to do with that. In the dim light there was a faint reddish glow to his eyes, only noticeable if you knew to look for it, but to Sally it served as a constant reminder as to what her 'friend' was. She felt a jolt of fear as she realized that the General would know what to look for when spotting a Terminator. 

Sick to her stomach Sally looked back to the General. Chances were he'd noticed, he was the great General Connor after all, Sally thought it was entirely possible that he'd known all along from the minute they'd entered the base.

Bracing herself she waited for what was to come. Ready for the worst she still found herself completely unprepared. 

General Connor smiled understandingly, "Don't worry, actually, I've been expecting you. You'll be playing a vital part in the upcoming mission." 

Sally felt as though the world had been turned upside down, the General expecting her? There had to be some mistake.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't understand," her voice was weak but she was amazed that she had managed to speak at all. 

The General smiled, "During the upcoming attack we will be breaking into one of SkyNet's factories. I need a tech expert who has a through enough understanding of the machines so that they would be able to operate some of the equipment there."

It made no sense to Sally, "I thought just about any tech expert with the right equipment could hack in and manipulate the machines."

"They also need to be able to reprogram a Terminator."

"You think I reprogrammed Martin?"

There was no sense in denying it any longer, the General knew the truth and Sally had the feeling that he had known all along.

General Connor was mildly surprised by this remark though he didn't show it. It had been obvious to him that 'Martin' was a Terminator and he had assumed that Sally was the one who had reprogrammed it. Since she was the only survivor from her base it was possible that the person who had reprogrammed it was dead, but General Connor found that unlikely. He knew what would happen during the attack on the factory and a Terminator would be reprogrammed, or already had. It depended on the point of view one looked at it from.

There was also the possibility that she was still trying to feign ignorance in some way or that she was intimidated by the situation, General Connor hoped that was the case.

"I know that Martin is a Terminator. Don't worry, it's not a problem," as he spoke he remembered his childhood experiences with a similar machine, "but it's vital to the mission and to the very survival of the resistance that you help."

Sally thought that it was a distinct possibility that she would die on the spot humiliation, the legendary General John Connor thought she was some kind of genius able to bring about the end of the war. Ready to mutter an apology or explanation she was cut short by Martin.

"General Connor, chances are that I would be able to reprogram any Terminator of the same or an earlier model than myself. I would also be able to understand and operate any devices in the automated factories provided I had the proper equipment."

He said it all in a calm even tone that Sally wouldn't have been able to manage if her life depended on it.

The General thought this over, "Alright then. Tomorrow you'll have to start training with the tech experts, but I think you'll also be able to give them some advice."

Not asking any further details of them General Connor let them leave. The General had always known the basic details of the mission, but the exact means of carrying it out had come as a surprise to him. There would be plenty for him to think about in the days until the attack.

The meeting had left Sally feeling frightened. Not only did the General know about Martin, he didn't care, all he was thinking about was how Martin would help in the attack. With a shudder she wondered if the constant pressure had caused General Connor to go crazy.

When she voiced her concerns to Martin he wasn't worried. 

"General Connor doesn't appear to be insane, from my files on human behavior he appeared perfectly normal and the mission makes sense. If the resistance is able to capture one of SkyNet's factories and reprogram Terminators for their own use it could have a major impact on the battle."

Still skeptical Sally continued, "Yeah, but I thought you'd lost most of your programming. So was that all a lie of something?"

Martin shook his head, "No, though some of my programming was damaged I still-

They stopped their discussion as a tired looking soldier made his way past them. Once he was out of sight Martin continued, "My basic programming is still intact, part of which is information on the functioning of Terminators from my series and several previous series. It's so an endo would be able to perform simple repairs on itself if necessary.

"So we could end up with a whole army of Terminators on our side?" as she said this Sally had a sudden vision of hundreds of 'Martin's' marching across a battlefield shooting down endos and H/Ks.

"I would assume that's what General Connor has planed, but I cannot fully understand the workings of the human mind so as to be able to think as General Connor would. I may very well be mistaken."

After saying this Martin fell silent thinking or processing data, whatever it was the Terminators did while deciding what to say.

"I don't think we should so openly discuss things like that. It might cause someone listening to figure out what I am, and though General Connor doesn't care I doubt that any other people in this base would be so accepting."

Sally couldn't argue with that, especially since as Martin said this the tone of his voice managed to convey a feeling of discomfort. Still, no matter how human Martin could sound there was no denying what he really was. 

Over the next two weeks there was so much going on and Sally was kept so busy that she hardly had time to think about what the point of the upcoming mission might be.

Though her ankle was back to normal she wasn't put back out on the patrols, she was allowed to continue helping with repair work. This was fine by her and she had started considering making a request to continue doing repair work permanently. 

Even in the constant flurry of activity she found time to meet with Martin. She always told herself these meetings were just to be sure that he was managing all right and hadn't been discovered. It also struck her as a good idea to continue to make it seem there was something between them.

When he wasn't working to get ready for the mission Martin had managed to stay out of the way. The story of his and Sally's arrival had spread around the base and most people treated him with pity, but left him alone.

Sally was always happy to see Martin and he was happy to see her, or at least he managed to look happy when they greeted each other.

On their last meeting before Martin was to leave on the mission Sally did feel worried. Martin tried his best to assure her that nothing would happen, but Sally wouldn't be convinced. For the past few days she had a bad feeling about the mission and was sure that something would happen and Martin would get killed or discovered.

Finally he put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. Though his tone of voice was comforting his eyes were blank and emotionless, "Listen Sally, it's a risky mission, but you shouldn't worry. General Connor knows what he's doing. I can tell you that there's no way that SkyNet will be able to anticipate this. I can't tell you the details of the mission, but once it's done the war's as good as over."

Martin had gotten better at understanding human emotion and how they reacted in various situations, but he still wasn't ready for what Sally did. 

She hugged him.

Tears filled her eyes as she spoke, "I know. It's stupid, but I've got a bad feeling about this. I can't explain it, just be careful."

Awkwardly he hugged her back. He knew that humans put an incredible amount of value in emotion and touch, but he had come to the conclusion that only a human could understand the exact meanings to such gestures. Martin had a rudimentary understanding of emotion, but he knew the only way to fully understand was to experience it, something he was unable to do.

Embarrassed by what she had done Sally pulled back, "Just don't do anything that'll give you away."

She left before she could do anything else so ridiculous. As always she tried to find some way to justify her concern for Martin. This time no excuse was forthcoming. 

Making her way back to her sleeping quarters she sat down to think. After what she had been through with Martin it was at least understandable that she felt some attachment to him. The way she felt was wrong and she knew it. Martin, no matter how human he could seem, was a machine and didn't care about her or any other human, it was all just programming. She wasn't sure if programming was enough to explain how he planed to help the resistance. Maybe it was possible he just wanted to help, but that didn't make sense either.

She couldn't believe she was getting herself so worked up over a machine, things would be so much simpler if Martin was human.

Thinking about this she must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew she was being shouted at.

"You're the one from base fifty-nine aren't you?"

Yawning and sluggish Sally nodded and tried to figure out what was going on. She could tell it wasn't an attack since there weren't any explosions.

"What the hell are you doing still here?"

He didn't wait for a response, "Just come with me, before we're late and screw things up even worse."

Still clueless followed. Unable to figure out why she was being yelled at Sally tried to figure out who was doing the yelling. She finally recognized him as the creepy Sergeant Reese. There was no reason she could think of that would have him of all people mad at her. There had been a few times she'd seen him, but she couldn't figure out what she could have done to get him so mad. 

He could have figured out about Martin, but Sally quickly dismissed that thought. Reese was a special friend of the General, from what she's heard, and would have gone straight to him. General Connor would have explained to him and chances were the Sergeant, being so devoted to the General, would leave it at that. 

Following Reese to the main entrance of the base Sally wondered if the General had changed his mind about her going on the mission. Did he think that she actually controlled Martin and she would have to come to keep him in line and prevent him from doing anything? That wouldn't mean much, if Martin did turn against them she'd be as helpless as the rest of the group.

Someone handed her a plasma rifle, apparently she really was going to be accompanying them on the mission.

Checking to make sure everything was in proper working order she went along with the rest of the soldiers and tried to blend in. Feeling rather foolish she tried to stay towards the back of the group.

Most of the other people there were renowned for some special skill. Right away she was able to pick out four sharpshooters, at least five tech experts and an explosives expert. As far as she could tell she was the odd one out with no special skills or experience.

Martin was up at the frond of the group talking with General Connor. Though they had been over everything Martin could tell about SkyNet and it's defenses in the in the previous days the General wanted to go through it all again. Now Martin was repeating some key points.

In the midst of discussing the weakness and lack of the interior security systems Martin stopped abruptly.

"Why did you have her come?" he gestured to someone towards the rear of the group.

General Connor looked over his shoulder, but couldn't figure out who Martin was talking about, "Who exactly are you talking about?"

"Sally Green."

It took the General a minute to figure out who it was that Martin meant, but looking back a second time he saw her. It seemed impossible, he'd picked every man and woman in the group himself and Sally Green definitely wasn't one of them. Still she was there, was trailing along at the rear of the group. General Connor tried to figure out how something like that could have happened. 

Martin spoke first, "When I was late arriving this morning you sent those five people to look for me. One of them must have misunderstood your orders and thought you wanted her."

This was the same conclusion General Connor had reached, but it was too late to do anything now, all that could be done was to do something to insure that Sally did nothing that could compromise the mission. 

After giving the matter some thought Martin spoke, "Let me go back and talk to her, if she knows some of what's going on she'll be less likely to do anything that will create a problem."

Martin slowed down until he was walking alongside Sally. As soon as she saw him she visibly relaxed. Before she could say anything Martin shook his head, "I'll tell you what you need to know then I have to go back up front with General Connor."

Sally nodded and listened, waiting to hear what she was doing here.

"We're going to be attacking one of SkyNet's main factories. There are five other groups out ahead of us working to clear the way and draw the machine's attention. When we get to the factory we'll be going in a side entrance while the remaining members of the other groups attack the three main entrances."

Sally blanched upon hearing this, "We'll be going inside?"

Martin understood that the humans had no idea of what SkyNet's forces numbered and tended to overestimate them, "It's not as bad as it sounds, SkyNet has limited resources and can't have large numbers of machines guarding its factories. It uses most of the machines to maintain the constant attacks on the bases, it figures this way it won't have to worry about humans coming to it."

The discussion was starting to get them some looks from the surrounding soldiers but Martin ignored them, "I have to go back to the General now."

He started to pick up his pace, but Sally grabbed his hand, "I'm staying with you!"

Removing her hand from his wrist he shook his head, "No, just stay back here."

Making his way back to the front of the group Martin resumed his discussion with General Connor. 

The machines were spread thin trying to deal with the other groups attacking the factory and it wasn't until the resistance fighters were in sight of it that they actually encountered any large groups of machines. Mostly small aerial H/Ks attacked them, very fast, but not as well armed as their larger counterparts they proved to be more of a nuisance than a threat. 

As the last of the small H/Ks were shot down General Connor spoke to Martin, "Are you sure you can get the doors open? The demolition team could probably get it done in under a minute."

Martin looked over at the factory's side entrance, "No, I can take care of it, an explosion would draw too much attention to the area. It will be best if we make this seem like just another small attack."

"Good, but you'll have to work fast. Chances are it knows we're here by now."

As if to emphasize the General's point a report came in of a group of approaching endos.

In the midst of the shooting Martin walked to the entrance. Not once was a plasma bolt fired in his direction. The resistance fighters knew he was on their side and the machines recognized him as one of their own.

Reaching the door Martin had to pause as a scanning device determined his model and series. After the data was analyzed the door opened.

General Connor had been carefully watching the events unfold, seeing the door begin to open he knew it was time.

"Move! Now!"

At once the resistance fighters made their move, any losses during the charge were acceptable. If the attack failed nothing would matter. SkyNet would win the war and the resistance would be destroyed before it was even formed.

As they ran a tech expert saw her lover fall and she ran to help. The instant she reached the body she was gunned down by the machines.

Regrettable, but nothing could have been done.

In all only five soldiers died during the run to the factory, two sharpshooters, two explosives experts, and the tech expert

Martin stood at the door and watched as the soldiers entered. He knew the door most likely wouldn't close until he entered or was registered to have ceased functioning. SkyNet had never considered that there might someday be a traitor so no precautions had been taken. A computer, even one that was self-aware was only as intelligent as those who programmed it. Even the mighty SkyNet reflected this truth in its inability to plan on betrayal.

Once the last soldier, Sally went by Martin stepped inside and the door slowly began to close. There was one last flash of a plasma bolt before the resistance fighters were plunged into darkness.

There were a number of exclamations in the confusion before someone turned on a light.

Blinking in the sudden change form total darkness to light General Connor looked for Martin and Sergeant Kyle Reese, the two most important members of the group.

Reese was easy enough to find, he was the one holding the light, Martin though was nowhere to be seen.

The General felt a rising sense of panic at the thought that Martin had somehow been left outside. True the mission could go on without him, but it would be much more difficult. 

The sight of a figure hunched over drew his gaze. Martin was kneeling by the door holding Sally in his arms.

Unable to figure out what was wrong with Martin General Connor made his way over to the pair.

On closer inspection what had happened became obvious. The plasma bolt fired as the door closed had hit Sally.

A hole had been seared right through her chest. Very little blood dripped from the charred flesh around the wound, the intense heat of the plasma bolts in effect cauterized any wounds they made as they burnt away flesh. 

The only comfort was that she had died instantly with no chance to feel pain or fear.

Martin looked up at the General with a horrible, haunted expression that he shouldn't have been capable of.

"She's dead."

Martin's voice held no emotion, it was a simple statement of fact. General Connor managed, with limited success, to convince himself that Martin's seeming grief was just an act. 

Several of the soldiers tried to comfort him, they had all lost loved ones and so assumed they knew what he was experiencing.

Looking from Martin, to the body and then to the soldiers General Connor finally spoke, "We need to keep going. This mission has to succeed."

As if by an afterthought he turned to Martin, "I'm sorry."

Martin resumed his habitual lack of expression as he gently, almost tenderly lowered Sally's body to the floor, "It doesn't matter." 

Saying nothing more he began to lead the fighters through the maze off corridors.

From personal experience with Terminators General Connor had some unusual theories on whether or not they were able to understand emotion. He knew that this was no time to try and test those theories and didn't speak to Martin.

They continued nearly blind in the darkness, the flashlights only illuminating a small portion of the corridors extending before them. Reaching a junction where two corridors met Martin stopped abruptly, "Turn off all your lights."

Someone towards the rear of the group let out a groan of protest, "What, and sit in the fucking dark until-

The complaint was cut short by the General, "Do what he says."

He trusted Martin to know the right thing to do in any situation they might encounter. After all, right now they were the first humans to have entered the building since SkyNet took over.

The lights went out with no further comment. Calmly Martin stepped out into the center of one of the adjacent corridors and fired four shots with his plasma rifle.

He stepped back to the rest of the group, "You can turn the lights back on now."

One of the soldiers shined his flashlight beam down the hall. The remains of several endos lay there in a heap on the floor. 

General Connor addressed the group, "This is where we split up. The left corridor leads directly to the main generators, you know what to do when you get there."

There were a few scattered 'yes sirs', many of the soldiers just nodded or remained silent.

"This shouldn't take more than twenty minutes, once that time is up this place is razed no matter what." 

Sergeant Reese accompanied General Connor and Martin down the middle corner. Martin noted that the Sergeant appeared amazingly excited, though Martin knew working along side the General was a great honor Reese seemed more than just eager to please. Before Martin was able to inquire Reese spoke.

"That was impressive how you took out those endos," there was a hint of suspicion in his voice, "In the dark, but you took them out with only four shots and they didn't even fire back."

Knowing that people preferred eye contact during conversation Martin turned to face Reese before replying. "They didn't register me as a threat. I was able to target them because-

His explanation was cut short by a plasma bolt. It missed Martin by mere inches. Turning he saw seven endos approaching.

Even as Martin reached for his plasma rifle one of the endos raised its gun and took aim at General Connor. 

Reese managed to act first, and more by accident than design was able to shoot the endo's arm off. Martin fired his plasma rifle, finishing the endo with a shot to the head.

In such close confines trying to dodge wasn't an option and there was nowhere to take cover. It was going to be a matter of taking out the endos before they were killed. 

Having practically the same programming as the endos Martin made a move that most likely 'confuse' the machines. He stepped between them and the General.

The endos didn't fire, they registered the situation as another Terminator being closer to the target and more likely to be able to successfully terminate it. 

It appeared that SkyNet was still unaware that one of its attackers was a Terminator. 

Knowing that the lull wouldn't last for long Martin opened fire managing to blast one endo's head off and damaging another so it was no longer able to function. Reese and General Connor managed to take out three more.

By this time the remaining two endos were able to register that Martin was in fact a threat. Again the machines prepared to fire, but it was too late. 

One was destroyed by two simultaneous plasma bolts to the upper body. It exploded knocking the other to the floor. 

The last endo managed to fire, the plasma bolt hitting Martin a glancing blow. Sergeant Reese fired three shots in quick succession destroying the machine.

Not realizing that Martin had been shot Reese turned to him and smirked, "I thought they didn't register you as a threat."

Martin choose to ignore the Sergeant's comment and examined the wound where the plasma bolt had grazed him.

Though metal shone through the tattered remains of charred skin there didn't appear to be any structural damage. A quick diagnostic scan confirmed this. The wound was small enough that the chances of it being noticed before the mission was complete were slim.

Ignoring his injury Martin took stock of their surroundings, "This way, the entrance to the room containing the equipment we're looking for should be just up ahead."

Aiming the flashlight beam past the remains of the endos a door was visible a short distance down the hall. 

Careful to keep his injury from being noticed Martin went to see what sort of mechanism would trigger the door to open.

Typical of an entirely automated building the door was operated by a number of sensors. One to detect motion, another on the floor measured the weight of whatever was approaching. If the panel on the floor detected a weight of over fifty pounds, the lightest of repair drones weighed nearly seventy, it would open. 

As the door slid open a bizarre sight was revealed. Illuminated by a gentle light were hundreds of tubes, all filled with a murky liquid. 

Martin looked into one of the tubes at the shadowy form hunched at the bottom. Reese looked over Martin's shoulder and gasped, "They've got people in there!"

Sure enough on closer inspection the shadow had a vaguely human shape, with a number of wires attached to its body.

"We can take care of that later," General Connor motioned for them to hurry.

This didn't satisfy the Sergeant, "We've got to do something to help them."

At the same time Martin removed what amounted to a heavily modified laptop from his pack, "No it will be quicker if we start reprogramming one now and then start the time-displacement mechanism."

Reese looked at him wide eyed at the mention of the time-displacement mechanism, "He knows about it too?"

The General nodded, "He's the one who can operate it."

Martin ignored the little drama and focused his attention towards the wires running into the base of the tube. Carefully he pulled several of them away and attached the computer to the tube's base. "You want it programmed as we discussed?"

General Conner simply nodded, for a brief moment lost in thought as he watched history make itself.

"Programmed?" Reese looked from the General to Martin uncomprehending.

"Just a precaution, it's not important for you to know the details," The General's answer wasn't much of an answer at all.

The fact that he had no choice but to follow the course of actions that he had known of since childhood didn't make things any easier. It was almost too tempting to do or say something that would, in some way the events that had already happened. In it's own way it was just as tempting to do something simply to change said events for the sake of changing them.

Fortunately the General's thoughts were interrupted by Martin, "The Terminator has been programmed according to your specifications. It will take approximately seven minutes for the liquid to drain from the tube and the Terminator to be fully activated."

"Right. We can't just wait here, do you know where the time-displacement mechanism is from here?"

Not bothering to reply, Martin simply started walking towards the back of the lab. There was a small room to the side of the room containing the Terminators.

Martin stepped in first, "This is it."

General Conner was at a loss for words, it was an empty room. Was it possible that Martin had betrayed him? Could something have happened to alter the events that he'd been told of since childhood? 

Reese quickly found his voice and began to curse at Martin, mentioning not only him and his ideas, state of mind, and sexual preferences, but also including the shortcomings in his family tree in a way that would have been amusingly ironic in a less serious situation. 

Unperturbed Martin explained, "It's this room. The subject to be transported stands on the marked portion of the floor, the displacement field is activated and the subject is transported."

Reese walked to a circle about ten feet in diameter made of some dull unidentifiable metal in the center of the room. "Right here?"

"Yes," Martin motioned for the General to leave the room with him.

"Where are you going?" Reese didn't seem to like the idea of being left alone.

"I have no idea of the effects of the field on a person standing in the room and don't think it would be particularly wise to find out at a time like this."

Once again the wires needed to attach the small computer to were exposed and plainly visible. This struck the General as lacking in foresight. When he mentioned this to Martin the Terminator simply shrugged, "Nothing here would trip over a wire and they're easier to repair this way."

General Connor smiled, "I guess I can't complain."

"Right," Martin wasn't much for small talk despite Sally's best efforts, "It's done, we can operate the mechanism now." 

Rows of indecipherable numbers began to scroll across the computer's screen. In the displacement chamber a number of lights flickered on.

They waited in silence, but nothing more happened.

"What's wrong with it?" the General sounded like he was nervous and attempting to conceal it. 

After pressing several of the computer panel's keys Martin turned to General Connor, "I don't know, it says 'foreign object neutralizing displacement field'."

In a very human manner he gestured helplessly to the unreadable screen.

The General closed his eyes and tried to make sense of the problem. He knew that a Terminator had already gone through and he knew that Reese had to be able to go. What was the big difference in the two situations, or what was he overlooking that should be apparent?

In hope of seeing a hint as to the problem he looked in on Reese. The Sergeant was standing in the center of the room resting the plasma rifle against his shoulder and nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other. 

A Terminator had made it through the time-displacement field and a Terminator was simply living tissue over a metal skeleton. 

In a moment of realization the problem and its solution became clear.

"Reese put your gun down, the machine won't work if there's anything with exposed metal."

That was the only explanation for why SkyNet hadn't sent a small army of machines armed with plasma rifles into the past, or so he hoped. 

The Sergeant was quick to comply. Resetting the machine Martin tried again.

"Still no go," pausing Martin thought the matter over, "Try taking off your boots, belt, jacket, anything with metal on, or in it."

Though starting to become more annoyed than nervous Reese did as Martin suggested.

This time a low hum filled the air and the numbers on the machine changed.

"Damn!"

Martin's exclamation startled the General, "What's wrong now?"

"This time it says 'error cannot transport inorganic material clear field area and try again'," Martin replied tapping the screen.

"What's the hell is that supposed to mean!" Reese shouted from the displacement chamber.

"It means that the time-displacement mechanism won't transport nonliving objects. You'll need to remove your clothing," incapable of becoming frustrated Martin spoke in a calm voice that only further infuriated the Sergeant.

The situation was fast becoming too much for the overly serious Sergeant, "What the fuck! Are you doing this just for laughs? Do you even know how to work the damn thing?"

"Sergeant!" General Connor spoke in an authoritative tone that he usually tried to avoid with Reese, "This mission is vital and your current attitude towards the matter isn't going to do any good."

Still cursing under his breath Reese removed his remaining clothing. 

Martin again restarted the machine. As before a low hum filled the air, this time quickly rising in pitch. Lights flickered in the time-displacement chamber and on the computer screen the numbers flashed.

In a tone containing neither fear nor excitement Martin read the information scrolling across the screen. "Power fifty percent. Scanning transport area, subject detected. Clear displacement field area. Set time frame…"

His fingers fairly flew across the keys as he typed in the date General Connor had told him to send Reese to.

"_Time frame set; prime physical co-ordinates selected. Power now at seventy-nine percent_."

Energy crackled through the air making the men's hair stand on end, Martin continued to read.

__

Power at ninety-six percent, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine. One hundred. 

Field generator fully powered. 

The air around Reese began to shimmer as if with intense heat, it soon became impossible to see the Sergeant through the fluctuating waves of energy. 

__

Activating time-displacement field.

The hum of the machine rose to a near inaudible whine.

__

Field active. Sending subject in five, four, three, two, one…

A flash of light and the Sergeant was gone. 

__

Subject successfully sent.

The General stood, staring at the empty room with an almost pained expression. History had been fulfilled. "So Reese has gone." 

Martin, unsure if the General Connor's statement had been a question, nodded, a gesture acknowledging what he had heard and the best thing to do when it became difficult to understand what it was the speaker wanted. He was unable to understand why the General seemed sad so close to victory. 

At this point the Terminator they'd reprogrammed entered the room as it was supposed to. This one looked different from Martin, having darker hair and a more bulky form. The differences made sense, Terminators had to be different or the resistance would have figured out what to look for long ago. 

Again Martin started the time-displacement mechanism. The Terminator crouched in the center of the displacement chamber silently waiting to be sent back in time to perform its mission.

Then it was over. The Terminator had been sent back to protect the young John Connor and the mission was over. 

The General said nothing, he was lost in thought for the moment. 

Martin knew he'd never be able to understand humans. True Sally had been willing to try and explain to him as best she could, there were still some things that one had to be human to understand. Sorrow, though was one emotion he thought he could understand, if too much happened to a person they ceased to function properly.

Still the General remained silent so Martin spoke, "You have nine minutes to get out. What now?"

This snapped General Connor out of his daze. He almost but not quite smiled, "Good, we destroy the time machine and get the hell out of here."

Martin tore the wires bringing power to the machine from the wall, then he entered the room. Instead of using his plasma rifle to blast away the parts of the machine he smashed in the panels on the walls with his fists. 

Satisfied that they were destroyed beyond repair he moved to the center of the room. Pointing his plasma rifle downward he fired blasting a hole in the floor. There was a discharge of energy as some unknown computer was blasted apart. He let his plasma rifle drop and reached down and pulled up a hand full of wires, sending out sparks as they broke.

Standing still amidst the sparking wires Martin picked up his plasma rifle and examined it as if seeing it for the first time, or perhaps seeing it in an entirely new way.

Plasma rifle gripped loosely in his bloodied hands Martin returned to the General. Slowly and deliberately he spoke, "Shoot me."

He offered the rifle to General Connor who couldn't believe what he'd just heard from the machine.

"What do you mean?"

Martin's ice blue eyes were as empty as a dead man's, "I am unable to self terminate, therefore I am asking you to destroy me."

"I know all that, but why?" impossible as it was it sounded as though Martin had gone insane. 

"There is no reason for my continued existence, you have won the war and everything created by SkyNet will be demolished. If I am not destroyed now I will be later, it is simply a matter of time."

From experience General Connor knew it was pointless to argue with a Terminator. Destroying Martin also struck him as pointless, enough good men had died and, though Martin wasn't human there was no doubt that he was a respectable soldier, hard to think of as a machine. 

Time was running out and Martin showed no sign of changing his mind. 

There was always the option of leaving him behind, but that wasn't really an option at all. Martin knew too much about the resistance to risk letting SkyNet find him.

General Connor pointed his gun at Martin's head so that the shot fired would go directly through his CPU destroying him instantly. Finger on the trigger the General took a deep breath, still not ready to do what had been asked of him, "Are you sure this is what you want?" 

-END-


End file.
